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Ad Navseam Episode 16: “Euripides? Eubuyides!”—Alcestis, Part 1

This week Dave and Jeff wade into the deep waters of Greek Tragedy for the first time with a two-part look at Euripides’ Alcestis. Even devotees of tragedy may not be familiar with this one! But before we get there we poke around at a few questions: why did tragedy arise in Athens?  Why did actors wear masks, and what's a deus ex machina? Then it’s on to Euripides himself—a poet well ahead of his time and the man the Athenians loved to hate—and his macabre marital masterpiece Alcestis. Apollo and Thanatos (NOT the purple guy) trade rap-battle insults while hubby Admetus behaves so insufferably maybe you’d die to get away from him too!

Ad Navseam Episode 15: I Can't Spare a Square! - Horror Vacui and the Dipylon Vase

Filling every nook and cranny, Jeff and Dave this week focus on their fears, and the 8th century B.C. pottery masterpiece known as the Dipylon Vase. What drives an artist and a culture to create a work like this in which every inch of the surface is covered? Is there something to this “fear of the empty space”?  What about the funeral scene that dominates the titular objet d'art, and when is that crunchy, creamy Jif sponsorship coming through?  So come on in for a whirlwind tour of early Greek art, play a quick game of Where’s Waldopolous?, and even learn about Edward Hopper’s influence on Alfred Hitchcock.  And don’t forget to water the ferns…unless you’re a pteridophobe, that is.

Ad Navseam Episode 14: Cicero Falls at Formiae - A Date which will Live in Infamy

This week Dave and Jeff take a sober look at the political assassination of Marcus Tullius Cicero, December 7, 43 B.C. As Octavian and Mark Antony reach détente, heads must roll. And first on the platter is that of poor Tully. Come along as we take the train out of Rome from Termini station on a gray January day and head down to Formiae. We recount the last hours of the famous orator with the help of Plutarch and Dio Cassius. Though he died without a fight, Cicero spent his last months excoriating the wild debauchery of Mark Antony in his famous Philippics.  Finally, join your hosts on a walk up the path to the great man's so-called tomb.  What is this place?  Is Cicero actually buried here?  Does it commemorate the spot of his death instead?  Or was it, maybe, just an ancient Subway restaurant?  Listen fresh.
 

Ad Navseam Episode 13: Buried in Books - Cicero and Cato in a Tusculan Villa

This week Jeff and Dave tag along with Cicero to sunny Tuscany where they find Cato Uticensis knee-deep in a pile of books on Stoicism. Gorging on books (helluari libris) and literary addiction (aviditas legendi) is our theme as we share favorite authors and works from the ancient and modern worlds.  First up is a primo piatto of Plato, followed by savory servings of Sophocles, and Apuleian “afters.”  If you still have room for more, stroll out with Jeff and Kazantzakis for a nightcap on Crete, and join Dave as he doles out cigars and Scotch to C.S. Lewis and Thomas Sowell.  Which books have you feasted on recently?

Ad Navseam Episode 12: Theogony and the Ecstasy - The Archaic Greek Poet Hesiod, Part 2

This week Dave and Jeff access a Pylon and head back to the beginning—Hesiod’s Theogony (c. 700 BC), the closest thing we get to a canonical creation myth for the ancient Greeks.  In between aggressive sickle-wielding, “foam births”, and largely pointless references to ‘90s movies, we find out where both the gods and the physical universe come from and why, in the end, Zeus does it best.  If that’s not enough, tune in to witness Dave actually letting Jeff recite some Greek for once, two Aphrodites for the price of one, and big daddy Kronos angling for a guest-spot.

Ad Navseam Episode 11: Workin' for a Livin' - The Archaic Greek Poet Hesiod, Part 1

Jeff and Dave get into the dirt with the archaic Greek poet Hesiod (c. 700 B.C.) and his seminal poem Works and Days. Is this near contemporary a match for Homer or does he deserve his (well-cultivated) second banana status? What should we think about the justice of Zeus, two kinds of competition (was Hesiod a capitalist?), fire-stealing, the myth of Pandora, and whether might makes right? Don't miss the five ages of mankind, from Golden right down through the Iron(ic), Age of Ultron in which we live. And one more thing--if you're not buying your fennel by the stalk, are you doing it right?
 

Ad Navseam Episode 10: Necropolis Now! The Martyrdom and Tomb of St. Peter

Jeff and Dave lead you on a tour down into the Scavi below St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, Rome. We take a look at some of the historical and archaeological evidence for the martyrdom and burial of the Apostle Peter. Did Peter die in Rome? Was he buried there? What is the long history of this site, from the reign of Nero, Constantine the Great, and Pope Julius II, right down to the mysteries and intrigue of Pope Pius XII and the brilliant Italian archaeologist Margherita Guarducci? What is so important about the 'graffiti wall'? Also, tune in for the special coupon code from our fabulous new sponsor, Hackett Publishing. 

Ad Navseam Episode 9: A Fisherman, a Farmer, and a Shepherd Walk into a Painting… - Ovid and Brueghel’s Fall of Icarus

Dave and Jeff serve up some Northern Renaissance art with a close look at Flemish painter Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s mysterious and haunting take on the Daedalus and Icarus myth. Is it a response to Ovid’s version of the tale or something else altogether? Jean Claude VanDamme stops by with a waffle sampler, and don’t miss: fat man on the menu. We also get at the lingering question, “Will Dave ever reveal his high school nickname?” Tune in and make sure to click on “Show Notes” for useful visuals.

Ad Navseam Episode 8: Avid for Ovid, or What's Love Got to Do with It?

This week Jeff and Dave take a close look at the Roman poet Ovid's (43 B.C. - 18 A.D.) first public work, Amores I.1. We cover such important literary notions as recusatio, ἀδύνατον, and what it must be like to live in Des Moines, IA. Come for the literature, stay for the measured mayhem. Apollo at war, Mars playing rhythm guitar, Venus with sword and helmet, and Athena fanning love's flames. It's a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world.

Ad Navseam Episode 7: Troy, the Movie - More Bods than Gods

This week Dave and Jeff watch—sometimes through their fingers—Wolfgang Petersen’s sweaty, beardy epic, Troy (2004). Come along as we revisit the film after several years of peaceful forgetfulness. Was it as bad as we thought? More fit for a shampoo commercial than a tour-de-force of bravado aristeia? Some highlights: a) musing over whether the film embodies a “Homeric Spirit” b) the “Tiresias” award for most obnoxious performance (Orlando, we’re looking at you), and c) the real question, better with the gods or without? Don’t be a heel—tune in.